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It didn't take a criminal to know that being taken by someone who everyone else seemed threatened by likely didn't mean they were enjoying a nice cup of hot cocoa and reminiscing.
Something bad was currently - or soon would be - happening to Reeve.
As if he needed any more ugly in his life.
I was in the middle of trying to remember to breathe, as per Sugar's instructions, when the phone started screeching in my hand, making me jump and drop it before scrambling for it again.
The number on the screen said unavailable, but that didn't stop me as I swiped my finger across it, and brought it up to my ear.
"Hello?"
"Baby Bash," a male voice said on the other end, making me scramble up onto my knees - then feet - to look out the glass wall.
And, sure enough, there was a nondescript black SUV parked halfway inside the yard, door opening as a man moved to get out. It was hard to see through the distance, but everything about him seemed to say 'military' to me.
"Oh, ah, okay..."
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do - stay put and wait for him to come to me, or go down to him.
"My name is Smith, doll. I am going to come inside, but Lo said you need to unlatch a floor covering and come down to meet me."
"I, ah, okay," I agreed, turning away from the wall to look down at the floor, wondering how I was supposed to lift such a thing. There were chains attached to the back of it, likely how it was hauled back up.
"Is there a crank?" he asked, seeming to sense my train of thought.
My eyes scanned the wall, finding a round wheel with more chain around it. There was no crank, but there was a button. Taking a chance, I hit it.
"There you go," he agreed, hearing the grinding noise as it came to life.
I stood back, watching the heavy wall get settled back into place, remembering at the last possible moment before going down the ladder to slip the latch back in to hold it. With that, I made my descent down, gun tucked into the bodice of my dress because I needed my hands free, leaving my shoes where they were because they could rot in hell for all I cared. My ankles and soles were throbbing because of them. I had barely made it to the bottom rung when I heard footsteps.
Logically, I knew it was him. Smith. The guy from outside. But my nerves were wrecked. I reached into the dress to pull out the gun, raising it as the shadow became a figure in the doorway.
He didn't even raise a brow at coming face-to-face with a gun, leaving me to wonder what he had been through in his life to make him so calm in the face of possible danger.
"Next time, take the safety off," he instructed, reaching out to put a hand on the top of the gun, and push it down until it faced the ground. "You alright? No one seemed to know if you got hurt."
"I'm fine," I assured him, shaking my head. "Reeve made me run before things... before anything happened."
"Don't know him personally," Smith said, moving to the side to allow me to walk into the open side of the basement with bunk beds and food supplies and anything else they might need to survive for a short period of time if something happened. "But he sounds like a good man. Alright, so Lo doesn't think you're directly in harm's way. No one, least of all V, knows who you are. So she said it is up to you if you would like to head to Hailstorm with all the other Henchmen women, or come with me to the firm. We have private rooms for people who need a safe place. Or, you can even go home, but I have to stay with you until further notice."
As much as running and hiding did maybe appeal to me right then, that was never going to be an option. I had lives at home that literally depended on me.
"Home," I told him with a sure nod.
"Alright. That works. I am going to go ahead of you. I want you at my six, one hand on my shoulder at all times," he informed me as he reached to pull out a gun. "This is all just precaution. Don't know if you know Lo, but I know her. And she would flay my ass if she thought I hadn't been careful enough with you. So we are just going to get out of here. You are going to get onto the ground of my backseat, and then we are going to go for a long, winding drive before heading back to your place."
